While
traveling and living abroad, I have on occasion surprised myself with
hankering for a Dunkin’ Donut or a scoop of Baskin-Robbins or Ben & Jerry’s
ice cream. Somehow familiar products, as these, dish up a slice of Americana,
chased by nostalgia for the good old “red, white, and blue.”

Fact
is, these treats (along with Snapple, A & W Root Beer, Bazooka gum, and
more) hold in common something unexpected. That being, each comes from
European-, not American- owned companies. Believe it. Snapple, A & W Root
Beer, and Bazooka gum are products of Cadbury-Schweppes; furthermore,
Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins also are properties of a British beverage
conglomerate.

Talk
about a British invasion! The Brits are coming, yes; but they are not
alone in that the Dutch, Swiss, and Germans have left indelible marks
on the US economic landscape as well.

You
see, Shell and Texaco both are run by the Netherlands’ oil company Royal
Dutch Shell, and even Jiffy-Lube is a Dutch-owned firm. Fido’s Alpo is
made by the same Swiss food titan Nestlé that energizes “dog’s best friend”
with Power Bars. You may be glad you use Dial (wishing everyone did),
but then you could be surprised to learn that the Dial Corporation is
a subsidiary of Germany’s Henkel Group.

Even
the “American” Heritage Dictionary is published by a subsidiary of a French
media firm—the same one that coughed up tens of billions to buy recording
and movie operations of Universal Studios. So, it seems, all that glitters
in Hollywood isn’t gold—American gold, that is!

Could
be there’s “capital-T” trouble in River City when it comes to the triumph
of America’s free market economic prosperity?

Euro-supremacy
in the Marketplace

No doubt
the EEU presents a foreboding counterweight to US dominance claims. Because
the US budget deficit is broadly viewed as dangerous to the global economy,
it matters big time that Europe’s countervailing power wields more voting
power than the US in the IMF and WTO (not to mention the UN).

To offset
America’s insatiable spendthrift habit, her economy depends heavily, and
increasingly so, on a huge flood—a tsunami, if you will—of transatlantic
investment. Bigger chunks of the up-and-coming “global economy” threaten
to leave the USA in a cloud of smoke. Speaking of which (and who would
have guessed it?), Kent, Viceroy, and Lucky Strike cigarettes are likewise
products of the UK.

Sporting
a single currency and common business regulations, coupled with a growing
spirit of enterprise, the European Economic Union leads on the fast track
toward winning global business battles. In the highly celebrated global
economy, America’s copycat products fail to impact or curtail emergence
of what Winston Churchill somewhat prophetically referred to as the United
States of Europe with astounding economic clout.

Having
poured many more resources into research and design, Airbus has emerged
as formidable competitor to the Boeing industry; and its planes are more
economical than even better-known Boeing counterpart models. Already,
Europe surpasses the US in wireless communications, interactive TV, automatic
vending, and far-reaching use of the smart card. Europeans, not Americans
cloned Dolly, invented Viagra, and launched Red Bull, the energy drink
that stormed America in the late nineties.

As the
world’s largest trading block, the collective pan-continental economy
of unified Europe represents a new-world superpower of pooled sovereignty—a
force to be reckoned with.

The
Pan-European Welfare Model: Boom or Bust?

On a
positive note, the new borderless Euro-continent is dedicated to fiscal
responsibility. Its multilateral approach transcends cultural norms and,
then, unites its extended family with pan-European public transit and
welfare-minded social solidarity on large- and small- scales.

Not
only does the government support Euro-firms aspiring to compete in the
global market, but it also salaries parents for raising their own babies.
Workers enjoy capped work weeks and ample paid time-off. Leading Europe’s
expansive menu of rights and privileges are near-free, quality education—through
college—and coveted health care for all.

But
hold your horses! Before packing up the household in pursuit of the transatlantic
gravy train, think again. Promise and delivery are two separate things.
High unemployment and slow growth make for the universally recognized
malady of “Euro-sclerosis.” For example, the National Health Service is
slow to do tests and x-rays commonplace here in America. Waiting lists
for operations delay timely treatments, and health care is strictly rationed
in attempt to maintain cost effectiveness.

Similarly
disturbing are legal ramifications of Europhilia. With regularity, a European
supreme court in Strasbourg invalidates laws and legal findings of member
states. In fact, rulings have become points of reference globally, even
for American judges. As a result, participating nation-states are yielding
significant control over their domestic economy to an international body,
the agenda for which is no less than central control of world markets.

Trouble
in Paradise

The
new-found paradise of Europhoria nurtures all—malefactors included. By
law, no teacher may swat the bottom (or hand) of an intolerably disruptive
first grader in dire need of swift curtailment. Chuckle if you will, but
consider this: The prevailing belief is that none (young or old) should
be left alone to bear consequences of their own miscues and resulting
bad decisions. With this in view, Portugal’s parliament has decriminalized
drug-use. More astonishingly, the Dutch government has gone so far as
to permit “hash houses.” Granted, as a matter of ethics, the line is drawn
when it comes to unused joints. No “doggy bags” allowed!

To deter
what is perceived as American barbarism, it is illegal now for member
states to extradite a prisoner to the US if so doing qualifies that offender
for the death penalty. This applies no matter how heinous the crime (or
crimes) committed.

To support
Europe’s idealist social model, ballooning runaway taxes are required.
Because Europe scrimps on tanks, missiles, and aircraft carriers, one
of America’s best-known foreign correspondents, T. R. Reid, characterizes
Euro-armies as “self-defense on the cheap.”

In sheer
manpower, Europe’s combined military strength exceeds the Pentagon’s;
but in comparison it remains a “military munchkin.” As self-proclaimed
peace makers, not war mongers, Euro-armies brandish passé weaponry and
summarily write off 21st-century reality. To borrow a 1960s anti-war mantra,
gay-friendly Euro-soldiers “make love, not war.”

Although
today’s Goliath of terrorism is intent upon ridding the world of non-Muslim
infidels—Europeans included—David seems to have “left the building” with
sling in hand!

Generation
E

In January
2001, self-proclaimed “Citizen of the Planet” Mikhail Gorbachev wrote
a letter to George W. Bush. In it, he acknowledged America’s power; but
her hegemony, he insisted, is not similarly acknowledged by the world
community. Nor should it be. In no uncertain terms, Gorbachev declared
that the 21st century does not belong to America, nor should globalization
proceed along American lines.

As demonstrated
over the course of our national history, American soldiers, sailors, and
pilots are willing to die for their beliefs. Not so for European troops.
The latter eschew God-fearing, flag-waving, individualistic American capitalists.
Europe’s so-called Generation E loves to hate Americans as selfish, insular,
materialistic, war-mongering, gun-happy patriots whose waistlines more
often than not exceed their IQs.

Europe’s
Generation E may well be educated, vigorous members of the youth culture
(ages 18-40); but this new breed of beer-guzzling Europhiles is characteristically
pessimistic and decidedly secular. Any flicker of individual faith is
more likely to align with Hinduism or Islam than that of the now-minority
Christian belief system. To Euro-youth, marriage is superfluous; sexual
orientation, irrelevant.

In contrast,
all that the US claims to represent is considered sheer hypocrisy. Eurocrats
rule the roost in so far as these arch Europhiles are concerned. Europeanization
promises to pioneer a secular New World Order devoid of borders and sovereign
nation-states—and with collectivist dependence on Big Brother. As such,
Europhiles willingly redistribute wealth (called globalization), even
when that wealth lands in coffers of elitists, deemed exclusively fit
to call the shots on behalf of peon masses.

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Never
mind that a government expected to provide everything for its constituents
is likewise poised opportunistically to take it all back (and then some).
Be sure, a socialist culture of entitlement, minus Christian ethic, delivers
the kiss of death.

Those
who pucker up to the Euro-frog can expect no prince to materialize.

T.R.
Reid. The United States of Europe: The New Superpower and the End of American
Supremacy. New York: The Penguin Press, 2004.

Daughter of an
Army Colonel, Debra graduated with distinction from the University of
Iowa. She then completed a Master of Education degree from the University
of Washington. These were followed by Bachelor of Theology and Master
of Ministries degrees-both from Pacific School of Theology.

While a teacher
in Kuwait, Debra undertook a three-month journey from the Persian Gulf
to London by means of VW "bug"! One summer, she tutored the daughter of
Kuwait's Head of Parliament while serving as superintendent of Kuwait's
first Vacation Bible School.

Having authored
the ABCs of Globalism and ABCs
of Cultural -Isms, Debra speaks to Christian and secular groups alike.
Her radio spots air globally. Presently, Debra co-hosts WOMANTalk
radio with Sharon Hughes and Friends, and she contributes monthly commentaries
to Changing Worldviews and NewsWithViews.com. Debra calls the Pacific
Northwest home.

No
doubt the EEU presents a foreboding counterweight to US dominance claims.
Because the US budget deficit is broadly viewed as dangerous to the global
economy, it matters big time that Europe’s countervailing power wields
more voting power than the US in the IMF and WTO (not to mention the UN).